Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-winning actor, found dead in N.Y. apartment - The Washington Post Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-winning actor, found dead in N.Y. apartment The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! By Terence McArdle and DeNeen L. Brown By Terence McArdle and DeNeen L. Brown February 2, 2014 Follow @DeNeenLBrown Philip Seymour Hoffman, the stage and screen actor who progressed from scene-stealing supporting roles to an Oscar-winning portrayal of writer Truman Capote in “Capote,” has died. He was 46. Mr. Hoffman was found dead in his apartment in Lower Manhattan shortly before noon Sunday, and his death is being investigated as a possible drug overdose, said Detective James Duffy, a spokesman for the New York Police Department. The New York City medical examiner’s office is expected to perform an autopsy as early as Monday, and that examination will include a toxicology report.

Police said they received a 911 call about 11:36 a.m. Sunday. When they arrived at the apartment, they found Mr. Hoffman unconscious and unresponsive on the floor of a bathroom. According to an unnamed police official who was not authorized to comment publicly, Mr. Hoffman was found with a needle in his arm and several bags of what appeared to be heroin. The official said Mr. Hoffman was supposed to meet a colleague Sunday morning and did not show. An associate went to his home and found him there. Police were still at the scene Sunday afternoon. In interviews, Mr. Hoffman acknowledged a history of drug abuse. “I got sober when I was 22 years old” and went into a drug rehabilitation program at the time, Mr. Hoffman told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in 2006. Asked whether he abused drugs or alcohol, Mr. Hoffman said: “It was all that stuff. Yeah. It was anything I could get my hands on. Yeah.

I liked it all.” 1 of 23 Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies at 46 View Photos Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment, police say. Authorities believe he overdosed on heroin. Caption Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment, police say. Authorities believe he overdosed on heroin. Jan. 19, 2014 Phillip Seymour Hoffman poses for a portrait at The Collective and Gibson Lounge Powered by CEG, during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Hoffman, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his portrayal of Truman Capote in “Capote,” was found dead Sunday. He was 46. Victoria Will/Victoria Will/Invision/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. Mr. Hoffman went on to say in the interview: “I have so much empathy for these young actors that are 19 and all of a sudden they’re beautiful and famous and rich,” Hoffman said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I’d be dead.’ You know what I mean? I’d be 19, beautiful, famous and rich. That would be it.

I think back at that time. I think if I had the money, that kind of money and stuff. So, yeah [I would have died].” In other interviews, he indicated that he had remained clean for more than two decades before relapsing in 2012, when he again entered a drug rehabilitation program, according to published reports. Mr. Hoffman, who specialized in off-kilter roles, won the best-actor Oscar for his 2005 portrayal of Capote in the biographical film that chronicled the writer’s research — and ethical transgressions — for the nonfiction crime novel “In Cold Blood.” It was one of four performances that earned Mr. Hoffman an Oscar nomination. He was nominated for best supporting actor three times: for playing a CIA agent in “Charlie Wilson’s War,” an abusive priest in “Doubt” and Lancaster Dodd, a character loosely based on Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, in “The Master.” His work in “The Master,” released in 2012, was for director Paul Thomas Anderson. In total, the actor appeared in five Anderson films — all but one of the director’s six feature-length films.

“He was an extraordinary actor with tremendous range and the gift of fully and deeply realizing his amazing characters in films from ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Capote’ to ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ and ‘Doubt,’ ” said Ken Howard, president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. “He was such a great talent and his loss is just deeply sad. On behalf of his fellow actors and all members of SAG-AFTRA, our condolences go out to his family and friends.” Mr. Hoffman got his start in Hollywood playing supporting roles in several movies in the 1990s, including “Twister,” “Patch Adams” and “Magnolia.” His breakthrough roles came as a gay member of a porn film crew in Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” and as an obscene phone caller in director Todd Solondz’s “Happiness.” 1 of 114 Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. Most recently, Mr. Hoffman played Plutarch Heavensbee in the “Hunger Games” movies and appeared at the Sundance Film Festival last month to talk about his role in the film “God’s Pocket,” slated for release later this year.

In many of his performances, Hoffman’s characters bordered on either the manic or depressive, but he brought a depth and intellectual honesty to each of them beyond the lines of the script. In his starring roles, his characters often took a darker course, in many cases being the antihero. “Hoffman isn’t someone we want to be,” Claire Dederer wrote of Mr. Hoffman’s roles in Salon. “He’s someone we want to be better than. Here is an actor whose entire oeuvre can be described in one sentence: ‘At least I’m not that guy.’ ” On Broadway, Mr. Hoffman was nominated three times for a Tony award, including for his portrayal of the worn traveling salesman Willy Loman in an acclaimed 2012 revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” His other Broadway roles included the oldest son of the Tyrone family in a 2003 production of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” Mr. Hoffman, who frequently dyed his hair and lost or gained weight for parts, was known for a sometimes painful dedication to his craft.

“With Capote, the part required me to be a little unbalanced, and that wasn’t really good for my mental health,” he told the New York Times in 2008. “It was also a technically difficult part. Because I was holding my body in a way it doesn’t want to be held and because I was speaking in a voice that my vocal cords did not want to do, I had to stay in character all day. “Otherwise, I would give my body the chance to bail on me.” Philip Seymour Hoffman was born July 23, 1967, in Fairport, N.Y., near Rochester. His father worked for Xerox and his mother was a lawyer, civil rights activist and, later, a family-court judge. His parents divorced while he was in his teens. Mr. Hoffman wrestled in high school until a neck injury forced him to quit contact sports. He discovered acting almost by accident when he followed a young woman — one he had a crush on — to an audition and wound up joining the school’s drama club.

At 17, he was selected for New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs where he met director Bennett Miller and writer Dan Futterman, who later worked with him on “Capote.” He received a bachelor’s degree in drama from New York University. Survivors include his partner of 15 years, Mimi O’Donnell; three children; two sisters; and his older brother, screenwriter and director Gordy Hoffman. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone,” Mr. Hoffman’s family said in a statement. They asked that the public keep Mr. Hoffman “in your thoughts and prayers.” Mr. Hoffman fully immersed himself in his craft and took pride in its creative challenge. “In my mid-20s, an actor told me, ‘Acting ain’t no puzzle,’ Mr. Hoffman once said. “I thought: ‘Ain’t no puzzle?’ You must be bad! You must be really bad, because it is a puzzle. . . . You start stabbing out, and you make a mistake, and it’s not right, and then you try again and again.

“The key is you have to commit. And that’s hard because you have to find what it is you are committing to.” Greg Miller and Eddy Palanzo contributed to this report. Actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman, 46, Found Dead of Apparent Drug Overdose – TheBlaze Tweet NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) — Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won a best actor Oscar in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in “Capote” and created a gallery of other vivid characters, many of them slovenly and slightly dissipated comic figures, was found dead in his Manhattan home Sunday. FILE – In this Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014 file photo, cast member Philip Seymour Hoffman poses at the premiere of the film “A Most Wanted Man” during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File) The cause of death was an apparent drug overdose, The New York Times reported, citing a law enforcement official who requested anonymity because he was not certain the actor’s family had been informed of the death. More from the Times: The official said Mr.

Hoffman, 46, was found in his West Village apartment around 11:30 a.m. by a friend who had become concerned at not being able to reach Mr. Hoffman. Investigators found a syringe in his arm and an envelope containing what is believed to be heroin, the official said. “It’s pretty apparent that it was an overdose,” the official said. “The syringe was in his arm.” Hoffman, who was no matinee idol figure with his tubby, lumpy build and limp blond hair, made his career mostly as a character actor. He was nominated for Oscars four times in all. In one of his earliest films, he played a spoiled prep school student in “Scent of a Woman” in 1992. One of his breakthrough roles came as a gay member of a porno film crew in “Boogie Nights,” one of several movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson that he would eventually appear in. He often played comic, slightly off-kilter roles in movies like “Along Came Polly,” ”The Big Lebowski” and “Almost Famous.

More recently, he was Plutarch Heavensbee in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and was reprising that role in the two-part sequel, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay,” which is in the works. And in “Moneyball,” he played Art Howe, the grumpy manager of the Oakland Athletics who resisted new thinking about baseball talent. Just weeks ago, Showtime announced Hoffman would star in “Happyish,” a new comedy series about a middle-aged man’s pursuit of happiness. In “The Master,” he was nominated for the 2013 Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as the charismatic leader of a religious movement. The film, partly inspired by the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, reunited the actor with Anderson. He also received a 2009 supporting nomination for “Doubt,” as a priest who comes under suspicion because of his relationship with a boy, and a best supporting actor nomination for “Charlie Wilson’s War,” as a CIA officer.

Born in 1967 in Fairport, N.Y., Hoffman was interested in acting from an early age, mesmerized at 12 by a local production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons.” He studied theater as a teenager with the New York State Summer School of the Arts and the Circle in the Square Theatre. He then majored in drama at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Trained in the theater, with a versatility and discipline more common among British performers than Americans, he was a character actor who could take on any role, large or small, loathsome or sympathetic. On the stage, he performed in revivals of “True West,” ”Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and “The Seagull,” a summer production that also featured Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. In 2012, he was more than equal to one of the great roles in American theater — Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman,” a performance praised as “heartbreaking” by Associated Press theater critic Mark Kennedy.

“Hoffman is only 44, but he nevertheless sags in his brokenness like a man closer to retirement age, lugging about his sample cases filled with his self-denial and disillusionment,” Kennedy wrote. “His fraying connection to reality is pronounced in this production, with Hoffman quick to anger and a hard edge emerging from his babbling.” The Times reported that Hoffman had undergone treatment for drug addiction in the past and noted in interviews his “falling off the wagon” last year after staying clean for 23 years. More from the Times: By around 2 p.m, more than a hundred people had gathered outside the address where the actor was found, in a brick apartment building on Bethune Street. The crowd was growing by the minute. As people passed, they stopped, snapped photos, held hands and watched. They seemed to be waiting. “He’s a local. He’s a fixture in this neighborhood,” said Christian McCulloch, 39, who said that he lives nearby. “You see him with his kids in the coffee shops, he is so sweet. It’s desperately sad.” At a short distance from the crowd, two men who identified themselves as friends embraced, sobbing.

Another one of Hoffman’s great performances was his portrayal of rock critic Lester Bangs in “Almost Famous,” who in this scene gives some life advice to a young aspiring music critic who just had his heart broken and dreams shattered: This is a breaking news story. Updates will be added. — Philip Seymour Hoffman dead: His life in film from Boogie Nights to The Master, via Capote - Mirror Online Philip Seymour Hoffman covered everything in his twenty-two year career , from TV, to comedy and hard-hitting drama. The actor landed his first major film role in 1992, starring alongside Chris O'Donnell in Scent of a Woman. But he soon made a name for himself thanks to his diverse roles throughout the early nineties. His big break arguably came in 1997 though, playing Scotty J in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, opposite Mark Wahlberg. Hoffman stole every scene, playing a gay boom operator who developed a crush on porn star Dirk Diggler.

Video Loading Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now The film marked the start of his most prolific period, with the actor starring in FOUR cult classics in the space of just over a year, between 1998 and 1999. The Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski came first, which saw Hoffman play Brandt, the Big Lebowski's personal assistant. It cemented his ability to play relatable yet socially awkward characters, a thread that runs through many of his best films. He then moved into a more central role for the 1998 comedy drama Happiness by Todd Solondz, followed by the brilliant Magnolia. Hoffman played nurse Phil Parma in the Oscar-nominated drama, alongside Jason Robards and Julianne Moore, among others. Video Loading Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now But shortly after came the chilling The Talented Mr Ripley, with Matt Damon and Jude Law. The film was nominated for FIVE Oscars. While Hoffman continued to star in high profile films such as Almost Famous, Cold Mountain and rom-com Along Cam Polly, his crowning achievement came in 2006.

Finally taking centre stage as the titular role in 2005's Truman Capote biopic, Hoffman wowed critics with his portrayal of the writer. Collecting his award, Hoffman admitted he was "overwhelmed" at the honour in a touching speech, thanking his mum for bringing up four children in the process. Video Loading Share this video Watch Next Oscar success did nothing to slow the actor down, with two consecutive Academy Award nominations in the following years for Charlie Wilson's War and the incredible Doubt. 2011 then saw Hoffman appear in yet another Oscar-nominated film, The Ides of March, with the six-time Academy Award nominated Moneyball coming shortly after. But it will be 2012's controversial drama The Master which will remain his last major role, as Lancaster Dodd. The story was said to be loosely based on the Scientology movement, landing Hoffman his final Oscar nomination. Since then, Hoffman had finished filming his part as Plutarch Heavensbee in the upcoming third part of The Hunger Games, with a fourth film planned. It remains to be seen what will happen to his appearance in these films, but Hoffman leaves behind an incredible movie legacy.

For now, we leave you with his Oscar-winning performance in Capote. Video Loading Philip Seymour Hoffman | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie twitter Biography by Rebecca Flint Marx One of the most original, versatile, and steadily employed actors in Hollywood, Philip Seymour Hoffman made a name for himself playing some of the most dysfunctional characters in movie history. Although he had been acting for years, most audiences were first introduced to the actor in the award-winning Boogie Nights , where he played a nebbishy soundman with a jones for Mark Wahlberg 's Dirk Diggler. Imbuing his character with both humor and poignant complexity, Hoffman was one of the more memorable aspects of an unforgettable film. Born in Fairport, NY, in 1968, Hoffman trained at New York's Tisch School of Drama. Before breaking into film, he did a host of theater work, performing in New York, Chicago, and on a European tour. He made his film debut in the 1992 film Scent of a Woman , a critically acclaimed picture starring Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell .

Roles in a number of films of varying quality followed, including My New Gun (1992) and When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). The actor then nabbed a sizable role in Jan de Bont's 1996 tornado thriller Twister and the same year began an ongoing working relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson by appearing in his directorial debut Hard Eight . The crime drama, which also starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson , received positive critical attention, although it didn't create more than a minor blip at the box office. However, Hoffman 's next feature and second collaboration with Anderson, Boogie Nights (1997), was both a critical and financial success, scoring a host of Academy Award nominations and simultaneously reviving the careers of some of its stars, such as Burt Reynolds and Mark Wahlberg , while providing a breakthrough for others, such as Heather Graham and Hoffman himself. He next appeared in the Robin Williams comedy Patch Adams (1998), and the same year starred in two critically acclaimed independent films, Todd Solondz 's Happiness and Brad Anderson 's Next Stop Wonderland .

The prolific actor added an appearance in The Big Lebowski (also 1998) to his already impressive resumé. In addition to his burgeoning acting career, Hoffman won favorable notices for his directing debut with the off-Broadway In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings. Hoffman came into his own with three notable performances in 1999. He reunited with Paul Thomas Anderson to play empathic hospice nurse Phil Parma, one of the emotional anchors in Magnolia. His portrayal of upper-crust snob Freddie Miles in The Talented Mr. Ripley earned him strong notices from many critics. Hoffman 's peers awarded him with a Screen Actors Guild nomination for his role as a cross dresser in Flawless opposite Robert De Niro. He returned to the Broadway stage with fellow Anderson regular John C. Reilly to play very different brothers in Sam Shepard's True West. They took a risk by switching the lead roles every three days. Their hard work earned critical raves, and each was nominated for a Tony award.

In 2000, Cameron Crowe cast Hoffman as Crowe's childhood hero Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, and David Mamet tapped him to be part of the impressive ensemble in State and Main. Hoffman maintained his status as one of the most respected and hardest-working actors in the new decade by delivering an excellent supporting turn in Red Dragon as an unctuous tabloid reporter. That same year he co-starred in Spike Lee's 25th Hour, and played the bad guy for old collaborator Paul Thomas Anderson in the offbeat romantic comedy Punch-Drunk Love. 2002 also saw the release of Love Liza, a very low-budget film scripted by Hoffman 's brother and directed by actor Todd Louiso that starred Phil as a grieving husband addicted to huffing gas fumes. The next year found Hoffman starring as a gambling addict in the small scale Canadian drama Owning Mahowny, and turning in a memorable supporting performance as an amoral preacher in the big screen adaptation of Cold Mountain. Hoffman was in theaters again at the beginning of 2004 as the best friend in the Ben Stiller comedy Along Came Polly.

He was also part of yet another outstanding ensemble in the small screen adaptation of Richard Russo's Pulitzer prize-winning novel Empire Falls. In 2005, Hoffman took the role of a lifetime when he assumed the title role in Bennett Miller's Capote. The film had critics in agreement that Hoffman 's portrayal of complex and idiosyncratic real-life author Truman Capote was the stuff of Hollywood legend. Hoffman not only mastered the character's distinct body-language and speech but also hauntingly interpreted the subtle psychological and emotional self that made the character whole-leading many to declare that he very nearly made the film everything it was. The performance earned him the Oscar for Best Actor, as well as a Golden Globe and countless other accolades. The attention also provided a boost in profile for the actor who had for so long proved his worth in the background. After playing the bad guy in the third Mission Impossible movie opposite Tom Cruise, Hoffman had a remarkable 2007, a year that saw him play a central part in three well-regarded films. His conniving brother in Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was a model of self-loathing fermenting into fatal action.

In addition to a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor, his highly-educated, emotionally fractured brother to Laura Linney's neurotic sister in The Savages offered him the chance to play numerous subtle and sharply observed scenes with her, the first meeting of these two revered performers. But it was his turn as the intense CIA operative in Charlie Wilson's War that won Hoffman the most widespread praise including Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Hoffman continued to solidify his status as one of his generation's finest actors in 2008 with two very different roles. By choosing to play the lead in Charlie Kaufmann's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York, Hoffman again displayed his fearlessness, as well as his desire to work with the very best writers and directors he can find. That willfully difficult film never connected with mainstream audiences, but that was not true at all for Hoffman 's other picture of 2008, Doubt. John Patrick Shanley's cinematic adaptation of his own award-winning play earned acting nominations for Hoffman and his three costars (Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis) from both the Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy.

Over the following years, Hoffman would continue to appear in a variety of interesting films, like Pirate Radio, The Ides of March, and Moneyball. In 2012 he again collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson , playing a cult leader in the drama The Master opposite Joaquin Phoenix. For his work in that movie, Hoffman got a Best Supporting Actor nomination from both the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The following year, he appeared in the smash The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as rebel Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee. Sadly, personal problems cut his illustrious career short, as Hoffman was found dead in his apartment of an apparent drug overdose at age 46. Movie Highlights See Full Filmography Factsheet Because union rules require a unique name, added Seymour, which was his grandfather's name, to his stage name. While in high school, he played Radar in M*A*S*H and Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, a role he eventually played on Broadway in 2012.

Between junior and senior years in high school, attended a Saratoga Springs (NY) drama camp, where he met and became friends with Bennett Miller and Dan Futterman, the director and screenwriter, respectively, for Capote (2005). Breakthrough role was as film technician Scotty who carries a torch for porn star Dirk Diggler in 1997's Boogie Nights. In 2000, starred in Sam Shepard's True West on Broadway, opposite John C. Reilly; the pair switched roles frequently during the production and solicited for a single Tony nomination to be shared between them (they were denied and nominated separately). Was co-artistic director for Manhattan's LABrynith Theater Company, where he directed productions including In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings. During that run, met his partner, costume designer Mimi O'Donnell. After directing numerous theater productions, his feature-film directorial debut, Jack Goes Boating, was released in 2010.

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Biography - IMDb Philip Seymour Hoffman Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (52) | Personal Quotes (30) Overview (4) 5' 9½" (1.77 m) Mini Bio (1) Film and stage actor and theater director Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in the Rochester, New York, suburb of Fairport on July 23, 1967. He was the son of Marilyn (Loucks), a lawyer and judge, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a Xerox employee, and was mostly of German, Irish, English and Dutch ancestry. After becoming involved in high school theatrics, he attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating with a B.F.A. degree in Drama in 1989. He made his feature film debut in the indie production Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole (1991) as Phil Hoffman, and his first role in a major release came the next year in My New Gun (1992).

While he had supporting roles in some other major productions like Scent of a Woman (1992) and Twister (1996), his breakthrough role came in Paul Thomas Anderson 's Boogie Nights (1997). He quickly became an icon of indie cinema, establishing a reputation as one of the screen's finest actors, in a variety of supporting and second leads in indie and major features, including Todd Solondz 's Happiness (1998), Flawless (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Paul Thomas Anderson 's Magnolia (1999), Almost Famous (2000) and State and Main (2000). He also appeared in supporting roles in such mainstream, big-budget features as Red Dragon (2002), Cold Mountain (2003) and Mission: Impossible III (2006). Hoffman was also quite active on the stage.

On Broadway, he has earned two Tony nominations, as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a revival of Sam Shepard 's "True West" and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill (I)'s "Long Day's Journey into Night". His other acting credits in the New York theater include "The Seagull" (directed by Mike Nichols for The New York Shakespeare Festival), "Defying Gravity", "The Merchant of Venice" (directed by Peter Sellars ), "Shopping and F*@%ing" and "The Author's Voice" (Drama Desk nomination). He is the Co-Artistic Director of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York, for which he directed "Our Lady of 121st Street" by Stephen Adly Guirgis . He also has directed "In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings" and "Jesus Hopped the A Train" by Guirgis for LAByrinth, and "The Glory of Living" by Rebecca Gilman at the Manhattan Class Company.

Hoffman consolidated his reputation as one of the finest actors under the age of 40 with his turn in the title role of Capote (2005), for which he won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award as Best Actor. In 2006, he was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for the same role. On February 2, 2014, Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in an apartment in Greenwich village, New York. Investigators found Hoffman with a syringe in his arm and two open envelopes of heroin next to him. Mr. Hoffman was long known to struggle with addiction. In 2006, he said in an interview with "60 Minutes" that he had given up drugs and alcohol many years earlier, when he was age 22. In 2013, he checked into a rehabilitation program for about 10 days after a reliance on prescription pills resulted in his briefly turning again to heroin. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C.

Hopwood Trade Mark (2) His characters often ran through a wide range of emotions His sluggish, almost listless way of talking Trivia (52) Had twice been nominated for Broadway's Tony Award: as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a revival of Sam Shepard 's "True West"; and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill 's "Long Day's Journey into Night". Had the flu the entire time he appeared in Almost Famous (2000). Younger brother of Gordy Hoffman . Taught an advanced "Directing the Actor" class for one semester at Columbia University School of the Arts Graduate Film Division during 2003. Received his Bachelor's degree in Drama from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (1989). Had appeared in four films with Julianne Moore : Boogie Nights (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998) Magnolia (1999) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014). They each then went on to appear in separate film in the Hannibal Lecter series.

Moore played Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001), and Hoffman played Freddie Lounds in Red Dragon (2002). In his sophomore year of high school, he suffered an injury that prevented him from playing multiple sports. In 2002, he appeared in 25th Hour (2002), opposite Edward Norton and Brian Cox ; and in Punch-Drunk Love (2002), opposite Emily Watson . That same year, he appeared with both Norton and Watson in Red Dragon (2002), which was a remake of Manhunter (1986), in which Cox had appeared. Grew up in upstate New York, outside of Rochester, in the village of Fairport. When asked who his acting idols were, he named Daniel Day-Lewis , Paul Newman , Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken . Did not drink alcohol. He became sober when he was 22 years old and said that he quit because, "I was 22 and I was panicked for my life.". Had appeared in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Red Dragon (2002).

Both are remakes of earlier films ( Purple Noon (1960) and Manhunter (1986)), and both feature him as a character named Freddie who is killed by the villain/title character. While working as a lifeguard, he once met musician Miles Davis . Davis appeared in an episode of the television series Crime Story (1986), and shared a scene with Stephen Lang . Lang appeared in Manhunter (1986) as Freddy Lounds, the character Hoffman played in Red Dragon (2002). His performance as Truman Capote in Capote (2005) is ranked #35 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). His mother, Marilyn Hoffman Connor, is a judge in Rochester, New York. After winning his Oscar for Capote (2005), he had been working with a filmmaker from his former high school in Fairport, New York, helping him with his project. Goodfellas (1990) was one of his favorite films. He won 23 awards for his performance in Capote (2005), including the coveted Oscar. His parents divorced when he was 9.

Had a younger sister named Emily Hoffman and an older sister named Jill Hoffman. Parents were Gordon S. Hoffman and Marilyn Hoffman Connor. Met his girlfriend Mimi (a costumer designer) in 1999 while they were working on the play "In Arabia We'd All Be Kings". Auditioned for the role of Cubby Barnes in Ransom (1996), which went to Donnie Wahlberg . Law & Order: The Violence of Summer (1991), in which he appeared, also featured another actor named Philip Hoffman . As of 2008, he and Dustin Hoffman are the only two winners of a Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar to share a last name. Philip won for Capote (2005) and Dustin won for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988). At New York University, he was a founding member of the notoriously short-lived and volatile theater company the Bullstoi Ensemble with actor Steven Schub and director Bennett Miller .

College roommates at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with actor 'Steven Schub' (lead singer of ska band The Fenwicks) and Jimmie Corrieri (guitarist of The Fenwicks). Upon accepting his Oscar for Capote (2005), Hoffman asked everyone to congratulate his mother, because "She brought up four kids alone, and she deserves a congratulations for that.". Beat Heath Ledger for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 2005 for his title role in Capote (2005), and then lost to the late actor for the Best Supporting Actor in 2008 to Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight (2008). Was one of 11 actors to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance.

The others in chronological order are Geoffrey Rush for Shine (1996), Jamie Foxx for Ray (2004), Forest Whitaker The Last King of Scotland (2006), Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007), Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007), Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008), Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009), Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010), Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010), Daniel Day-Lewis again for Lincoln (2012) and J.K. Simmons for Whiplash (2014). Was a huge fan of the New York Jets. Since earning his first nomination in 2005, the longest he had gone without an Oscar nomination was 4 years, between Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012). Was a huge fan of the crime drama series Breaking Bad (2008). Was one of 8 actors who have received an Oscar nomination for their performance as a priest.

The others, in chronological order, are: Spencer Tracy for San Francisco (1936) and Boys Town (1938); Charles Bickford for The Song of Bernadette (1943); Bing Crosby for Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945); Barry Fitzgerald for Going My Way (1944); Gregory Peck for The Keys of the Kingdom (1944); Karl Malden for On the Waterfront (1954); and Jason Miller for The Exorcist (1973). Tracy, Crosby and Fitzgerald all won Oscars for their performances. Had Dutch, English, German, Irish, and remote Polish, ancestry. His paternal great-grandfather, Orville Hoffman, was the son of German immigrants, Johann Adam Hoffman and Barbara Kleinhans. Became a father for the 1st time at age 35 when his girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell gave birth to their son Cooper Alexander Hoffman in March 2003.

Became a father for the 2nd time at age 39 when his girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell gave birth to their daughter Tallulah Hoffman in November 2006. Became a father for the 3rd time at age 41 when his girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell gave birth to their daughter Willa Hoffman on October 17, 2008. Attended the 56th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. [February 2006] Attended the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in France. [May 2008] Attended the Cannes 2002 Film Festival in France. [May 2002] Attended the premiere of Pirate Radio (2009) in Amsterdam, Netherlands. [April 2009] In May 2013, Hoffman announced that he checked into substance abuse treatment center because he had started snorting heroin.

Hoffman was found dead, reportedly from a drug overdose, in his Manhattan apartment on February 2, 2014, exactly one day after the death (from pneumonia) of another Best Actor Oscar winner, 83-year-old Maximilian Schell (for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)). Along with Vanessa Redgrave (for Julia (1977)), Kate Winslet (for Iris (2000)), Mare Winningham (for Georgia (1995)), Terence Stamp (for Billy Budd (1962)), Roland Young (for Topper (1937)) and Claude Rains (for Mr. Skeffington (1944)), he is one of the few performers to be nominated for a Supporting Oscar for playing the title role in a movie (for The Master (2012)). As of 2013, Redgrave is the only one to win. His three Oscar nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category came from films in which he appeared along Amy Adams : Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012). Adams was nominated for the two latter films.

Split from longtime companion Mimi O'Donnell in 2013. Was found dead on the bathroom floor, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts with a hypodermic needle still stuck in his arm and 70 baggies of heroin inside his Greenwich Village apartment. As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Scent of a Woman (1992), Capote (2005) and Moneyball (2011). His funeral was held in the Church of St Ignatius Loyola in New York. No relation to Dustin Hoffman , although both have played Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman." In addition, in the production with Dustin Hoffman, one of his sons was played by Stephen Lang , who also played Freddie Lounds in Manhunter (1986). Philip Seymour Hoffman played that same role in Red Dragon (2002). Personal Quotes (30) A lot of people describe me as chubby, which seems so easy, so first-choice. Or stocky. Fair-skinned. Tow-headed. There are so many other choices. How about dense?

I mean, I'm a thick kind of guy. But I'm never described in attractive ways. I'm waiting for somebody to say I'm at least cute. But nobody has. "Being unemployed is not good for any actor, no matter how successful you are. You always remember what it feels like to go to the unemployment office, what it feels like to be fired from all those restaurants". "Not only couldn't I get a job as an actor, I couldn't hold down the temporary non- acting jobs I managed to get. I got fired as a waiter in restaurants and as a lifeguard at a spa" --On his life before films "If I hadn't gotten into Scent of a Woman (1992), I wouldn't be where I am today. It's been a domino effect ever since". Actors are responsible to the people we play. I don't label or judge. I just play them as honestly and expressively and creatively as I can, in the hope that people who ordinarily turn their heads in disgust instead think, 'What I thought I'd feel about that guy, I don't totally feel right now' ". -- On his responsibility as an actor.

To have that concentration to act well is like lugging things up staircases in your brain. I think that's a thing people don't understand. It is that exhausting. If you're doing it well, if you're concentrating the way you need to, if your will and your concentration and emotional and imagination and emotional life are all in tune, concentrated and working together in that role, that is just like lugging weights upstairs with your head..And I don't think that should get any easier". -- On acting. "Other people disagree with me, but Scent of a Woman really was my breakthrough. I was working in the prepared foods section of a deli when I was cast in that movie, and I've never had a non-acting job since. That's amazing". Success isn't what makes you happy. It really isn't. Success is doing what makes you happy and doing good work and hopefully having a fruitful life. If I've felt like I've done good work, that makes me happy. The success part of it is all gravy. Sometimes I'm working on a film and someone will ask me if I'm having fun. And I'm tempted to tell them the truth: No, absolutely not. Having no fun here at all.

You know what's going to be fun? When it's done, and I've done a fuckin' good job, and I know people are getting something out of that. I'll have a lot of fun then. A ton of it. I'm probably more personal when I'm acting than at any other time. More open, more direct. Because it allows me to be something that I can't always feel comfortable with when I'm living my own life, you know? Because it's make- believe. Acting is so difficult for me that, unless the work is of a certain stature in my mind, unless I reach the expectations I have of myself, I'm unhappy. Then it's a miserable existence. I'm putting a piece of myself out there. If it doesn't do anything, I feel so ashamed. I'm afraid I'll be the kind of actor who thought he would make a difference and didn't. Right now, though, I feel like I made a little bit of difference. Doing a play is good for me because it's a nice change from being on a movie set. I try to do a play every year because it just invigorates me.

I think Magnolia (1999) is one of the best films I've ever seen and I can say that straight and out and anybody that disagrees with me I'll fight you to the death. I just think it is one of the greatest films I've ever been in and ever seen. "It was an incredibly honest, unique, specific and personal story of addiction. He lives to feed the beast and it gets him farther away from reality, intimacy and life.To me, it's not even about gambling. It's about a man and how he behaves in this pressurized world he has created for himself. There is no relief for this guy. It's about a man who cuts off his feelings at the same time his girlfriend [Minnie Driver] comes at him harder. Life comes at him harder, too, but he can only think about his addiction." - On his role in Owning Mahowny. It's not by going into 'the business,'. The business can't be a thought. You get a foothold because you want to get a foothold as an artist. Your desire, your intensity, has to be about being a great actor or a great painter or a great musician.

If that's strong enough, it'll lead you to good teachers and to places where you'll learn. For me, the business wasn't a thought. I was doing a play, and a friend in the play said, 'My manager is here tonight and she wants to meet you.' And I said, 'Oh.' And that's how I got a manager. [on getting his part in The Big Lebowski (1998)] It's the Coen brothers, and you never think you're going to get to work with people like that. I thought I'd never get the part. So I wanted to do something very weird. I went in and started ranting and raving and they were laughing their asses off. I was petrified but, I figured, at least they laughed a lot. My favorite thing about acting is being alone and going through the scripts and working on it and getting ideas and asking myself questions, looking outside myself for them and researching and getting to the bottom of something and being creative with it as an actor and how to express it in a creative fashion. That's my favorite part. And,the actual acting of it. On my down time I do a lot of nothing.

I just kinda read, run and hang out with friends because I haven't had a lot of it lately. I just try to do a lot of nothing. Go to some sports. I like to play tennis. I travel a lot with my work now so if you are travelling all the time you don't want to travel you want to stay home. And when you stay home you really don't want to do too much because you've been going out and getting up early and staying out late all the time. So you just do very little. [on The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)] Playing Freddie Miles was really easy. It was one of those parts you know exactly what you're doing. The character is not beating around the bush at all. His main action is to expose Tom Ripley as a phoney. Sometimes it's hard to say no. Ultimately, if you stick to your guns, you have the career that you want. Don't get me wrong. I love a good payday and I'll do films for fun. But ultimately my main goal is to do good work. If it doesn't pay well, so be it.

[his advice to aspiring actors] Study, find all the good teachers and study with them, get involved in acting to act, not to be famous or for the money. Do plays. It's not worth it if you are just in it for the money. You have to love it. The stage can be more satisfying because you spend a lot of time rehearsing, and film is more technical. In the end it just depends on the work and the director. I do like the world of the theater though. Film is a very uncomfortable medium for an actor. It's just not conducive to doing what actors do. The first few days of shooting are like you just getting over the fact that your there. These people and the camera over the shoulder and the light and the boom - you're just going crazy trying to find some kind of center of relaxation and then you can get into a rhythm and it can be very satisfying. If you do good work and it's on film, that's a very satisfying thing. - 2006. Actors are responsible to the people we play. My passion to develop as an actor didn't have anything to do with people knowing me. I had no idea that would happen.

To become famous, to become a celebrity is something that I thought happened to other people. [on Capote (2005)] I knew that it would be great, but I still took the role kicking and screaming. Playing Capote took a lot of concentration. I prepared for four and a half months. I read and listened to his voice and watched videos of him on TV. Sometimes being an actor is like being some kind of detective where you're on the search for a secret that will unlock the character. With Capote, the part required me to be a little unbalanced, and that wasn't really good for my mental health. It was also a technically difficult part. Because I was holding my body in a way it doesn't want to be held and because I was speaking in a voice that my vocal cords did not want to do, I had to stay in character all day. Otherwise, I would give my body the chance to bail on me. [on The Master (2012)] L. Ron Hubbard is the reference, but it isn't L. Ron Hubbard. There are things he does that are referenced in Hubbard's life, but ultimately there is no adherence to that fact. We took liberties because he is a fictional character.

[on quitting drinking at age 22] I think I would have drank myself to death, literally, if I didn't just stop, once and for all when I did. I am not ever going to preach to anyone about drugs or drinking. But, for me, when they were around, I had no self control. [on going to rehab] I went, I got sober when I was 22 years old. You get panicked and I got panicked for my life. I teach acting sometimes - not a lot, but once in a while - and what I really try to say to them - 'cause I know it's true - is that if you're doing a play or you're shooting a film, the way you feel after a performance that night, or after a day of work, if you've done well, is the best it gets. You don't need anyone to tell you. I always say it's like when you can go home and fall asleep and wake up well-rested. That's as good as it gets, because everything else is fleeting. It's what keeps you going back to work.

[on being taken to a production of 'All My Sons' at age twelve] It's a great play, and at the end of the play the father goes off-stage and kills himself. It's a very sappy, corny memory but I remember thinking I had found something that no one knew about. I could just not get over the fact that these people in front of me were getting me to believe something that was not happening. I matured in those two hours, just experiencing that. See also

Question: For his portrayal of which real life character did Philip Seymour Hoffman win the 2006 Best Actor Oscar?
Answer: Truman Capote